Iroh's Intuition
by razzledazzle41191
Summary: This story starts out during The Avatar State. What if the captain hadn't slipped up? What would have happened if Iroh and Zuko had gotten on that ship bound for the Fire Nation?
1. Chapter 1

"Brother! Uncle! Welcome. I'm so glad you decided to come," said Azula with an apparently loving expression.

Iroh and Zuko both gave a low bow, but Iroh made sure to keep an open eye. He didn't trust Azula, unlike Zuko. Zuko had swallowed up everything his sister had told him yesterday with the naivitivity of a child.

"Are we ready to depart, Your Highness?" asked the captain.

"Set our course for home, captain," replied Azula with that same awful face. Iroh was so sure that she had something planned.

"You heard the princess! Raise the anchors! We're taking the Royal Family home!"

Iroh repressed a snort with difficulty- mere hours ago, he and Zuko had been banished and unwanted; now they were considered royalty. Why was Zuko buying this?

Iroh and Zuko walked up the platform, Iroh somewhat reluctantly. Once he set foot on that ship, he would abandon the freedom of the land, and become imprisoned to Azula and her ship.

They reached the top and Iroh kept up his watchful guard. He was safe at the moment; Azula would wait until they were safely out at sea before trying anything. He had time to plan. Iroh needed to convince Zuko that Azula was lying before she double-crossed him. The most obvious way was to remind Zuko of what the rest of their family was really like, but because that would involve bringing up painful memories such as his mother's disappearance, his Agni Kai, and his banishment, it was probably the worst argument to present. No, it would be best to wait a few days, and see if he could use something Azula said or did against her. He hoped that this information came soon, or else it might be too late. As the guards led him and Zuko to their chambers, Iroh prayed a silent prayer to Agni.

_Sorry it's so short, but I hope you liked it! The next chapter(s) should be longer. I'm not really sure how long I'm going to take this, we'll just have to see what my muse tells me!_


	2. Chapter 2

Iroh woke up the next morning with a headache. He had barely slept last night; worry had made him an insomniac. Iroh put his ear to the wall to hear if Zuko, in the room next to him, was up. He didn't hear anything, but because a look at the window showed the sun barely rising, he doubted that Zuko was awake and out of his room. It was probably too early for anyone besides crew as well, so Iroh walked up to the top deck of the ship.

Iroh sat down and breathed in deeply. Sunrise was his favorite time of the day. He always felt closer to the sun when it was close to the earth. After a few minutes of mediation, Iroh stood up to practice his firebending. Some might consider it superfluous to practice when he had as much experience as he did, but Iroh felt that it was important to keep going over what he knew, lest he forget it or get rusty. He also had a hunch that he might have to firebend in a battle very soon.

Iroh breathed in once again and started throwing some fiery punches. He simultaneously jumped and twisted his body over so that flames shot out of his hands and feet. He brought his hands to his center and created a circle of fire around him that shot 5 feet into the air. He continued for several minutes before wrapping up with a bolt of lightening, sent into the morning sky. He breathed and closed his eyes, and heard clapping behind him.

"Very impressive, Uncle," said a smiling Azula.

Iroh gave a small bow before saying, "Good morning Azula. I hope I did not wake you. That would be most unfortunate." Iroh tried to keep the sarcasm out of his voice, and luckily Azula did not seem to notice anything.

"Not at all. I just love the sunrise."

"As do I."

"Well, Uncle, it seems that we have something in common."

Iroh did not want anything in common with his niece, but he had to be careful, so he simply nodded his head and headed inside for breakfast. But before he got to the door, Azula grabbed his arm and said, "Uncle, I know you don't trust me. But Zuko does, so you should too. You don't have anything to worry about. We're going home, with our family."

Iroh had never heard such a pack of lies, but again, he kept his cool and replied, "I know. And I'm sorry. I'm just concerned about Zuko, that's all."

Azula gave _that_ smile again and said, "Well I hope I can win your trust by the time we reach the Fire Nation. Now come, let's eat some breakfast."

Iroh mimicked Azula's face and asked, "Do you have any Jasmine tea?"

_Sorry if that was short and a bit lacking in plot, it was mostly written for the characterization of Iroh and Azula. I love Iroh, he's my favorite :). I hope that the part where he practiced his bending was written all right, I'm not a battle scene writer, and it's even harder when there's only one person. As for Azula, she's trying to win Iroh over, but as I've hopefully conveyed, it won't be as easy as Zuko was._

_I'd love to say that the chapters will definitely get longer than this, but I can't make any promises. There will be more though, just keep a lookout! Thanks for reading; is it in your heart for a review:)_


	3. Chapter 3

They were a day out at sea, which meant that if Azula had anything planned, the circumstances were in her favor.

Iroh sniffed his morning tea carefully. He did not smell any poison, and although that did mean that there could be a poison that could not be smelled in his drink, he doubted that that was how Azula would get rid of him. No, she was much smarter than that. Even though Zuko trusted her, it would be very suspicious if Iroh suddenly died.

Iroh must have looked very pensive because Azula said, "Are you all right Uncle?"

He gave a small jolt before replying, "Yes, thank you," He took a sip of tea and gave a hopefully convincing smile, while inside he shook like a maniac, trying to escape the look of triumph in those golden eyes.

Luckily, the tense moment passed as Zuko walked in with a cheerful, "Good morning Uncle, sister."

"How did you sleep, nephew?"

"Alright. I had this really weird dream though."

"Let's hear it. I love a good dream."

"Well, I was home, sleeping, when all of a sudden a great bear woke me up. She motioned for me to follow her, so I did. The scene changed and it got all black, and the bear disappeared, but as she did, she said, "Everything he's done, he's done for you. Everything she's done, she's done for herself. Then all of a sudden, I was sitting on a throne, with a red and a blue dragon around me. Both tried to make me as comfortable as possible. But when I turned my back, the red one had disappeared. The blue said that he was a coward, and had run. Then the red one sat on my throne, and refused to let me sit down. I tried to shove her off, but she bit me and I woke up. Weird, huh?"

Iroh smiled and said, "Who knows why Agni gives us such dreams?"

* * *

Later that evening, Iroh was leaning on a ship rail, looking out into the ocean. He needed to start talking to Zuko soon- as the captain had announced earlier that afternoon, there were only four days left for their voyage at sea, before they began their three-day journey on land from the port to the palace. And unfortunately, Azula was playing her part well; she was the sweet, loving sister Zuko had always wanted. So how should he approach him? Iroh mulled it over before leaving the open and going to find Zuko, not really knowing what he would say. 

Iroh looked for several minutes before trying Zuko's room. He knocked and heard a quiet, "Come in." Iroh opened the door and saw only Zuko's back. He was meditating.

"What is it, Uncle?"

"Zuko, we need to talk."

"About what?"

"Azula."

"What about her?"

"I'm just concerned that she might be less than truthful about-"

"About what?"

"Everything."

"Oh, and I suppose you think Father's lying too."

"It would not be surprising."

Zuko wheeled around. "Well you're wrong. Father loves me and so does Azula. Why are you trying to ruin this for me?"

"Zuko, I'm not trying to ruin anything for you. I just think that you should make sure you're doing the right thing, going back to the Fire Nation."

"Of course I am! Now get out; you interrupted my meditating with your crazy theories."

Iroh sighed, gave a small bow, and walked out of the room. He heard the door slam angrily behind him as he walked to his room. Iroh sat down on his bed and put his head in his hands. Things couldn't have gone worse if he had tried. It was obvious that Zuko was not going to listen to reason. Iroh could not depend on Azula to slip up. The best plan he could come up with was to stay close to Zuko and make sure that he stayed safe, no matter the price.

_Ok, so it's a little longer...sorta...hope you liked it! The dream sequence just randomly came to me, and I was actually going to dedicate an entire fanfic to it, but I decided it fit better here. Hope you caught all of the symbolism, I've been working on my AP summer work and would rather deal with Avatar symbols than Grapes of Wrath symbols :) Review if the mood suits ya!_


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Before you read this chapter, let me give a HUGE apology to anyone who's been waiting for this chapter. I had a major case of writer's block after chapter 3, and sorta ignored this story to start on a few new things. I'm sorry I'm just now putting this up, I hope you like it. It's not any longer, which annoys me, but I like it as of now. Please continue.

The next day was uncomfortable at best. Zuko did not so much as look at Iroh, which, although not unexpected, still stung. Azula followed suit and also refused to look at Iroh. She did, however, give several sympathetic glances to Zuko and got more than one smile in return. _It's so easy for her_ he thought _Zuko's doing all the work, she's just playing along. At this rate, he'll have forgotten me by the time we reach land._ After a whole morning of the cold shoulder, Iroh decided to do everyone a favor and shut himself in his room.

Iroh tried to meditate, but he was too agitated. He therefore took a good look around the room for the first time. Of course he had noticed the obvious features such as the large bed, the three windows facing west, and the vibrant Fire Nation flag, but there were many subtle details that he hadn't noticed before. For instance, the molding around the floor had little dragons carved into it. The map on the wall showed the Fire Nation plus all of the conquered territory. There was a bookcase filled with memoirs of famous Fire Nation generals.

Iroh flopped on his bed. Azula had obviously tried to bring Iroh back to his glorious days as a Fire Nation general. Unfortunately for her, he was not that man anymore. A trip to the Spirit World had centered his morals and opened his eyes to his own nation. He learned how much pain his nation had been causing, and for the first time he actually cared for those not of the sun. Iroh loved his nation, but they needed a serious reality check. Iroh wished they could all go through the same sort of metamorphosis that he went through, minus the Spirit World part of course.

Iroh decided that a nice warm bath would help calm some of his nerves. He went to the washing area of his room concealed by thick screens. He slid one panel open, closed it, and prepared for relaxation.

* * *

A few hours later Iroh was dressed and his usual happy self. True, he was still upset about Zuko, but he pushed that to the back of his mind. He opened the door and went down the hall to the kitchen. Although his room was nice, it lacked an area to make tea. He made a note to tell Azula. As long as he was her prisoner, he might as well be comfortable.

Iroh turned the corner and saw the stairs that would lead him down to the kitchen. He descended one floor, but heard some muffled shouting a few rooms down the hall. He adored his tea, but the child within (who often came out) was curious, so he cautiously approached the door. It was a woman screaming, but not as if she was in trouble. No, she sounded confident, and the man's voice that came was definitely the weaker of the two. Looking around, Iroh pressed his ear to the door.

"You said four days yesterday. Now you're saying it will take five?"

The man mumbled something Iroh couldn't make out, and then he heard a sickening smack.

"The tides? I thought I taught you about the tides!"

The noise again.

"This is unacceptable. The old man is already getting suspicious. We need to be in Kalihan in two days."

Iroh felt his knees tremble, but he headed for the stairs and did not stop running until he reached the top deck of the ship. He ran to the rail and threw up.

Their destination was not Fuoco, the city where everyone stopped before heading to the royal palace; it was Kalihan, home of the most brutal prison in the Fire Nation, and probably the world. Even in the height of his military career, Iroh never took prisoners of war there. In those prisons, the inmates were killed quickly. Kalihan's residents could survive for years, and almost dying was a routine thing. Captured healers were forced to heal their comrades just so that they could be tortured more. And that was where Azula was taking them.

A/N: I still feel bad about not updating for so long. A review would be way too nice. But I'd still appreciate one.


	5. Chapter 5

**No amount of apologizing can make up for this untimely delay of this story. I'm so sorry for it, and sorry it's so short. I did have temporary writers block, but then I just got busy, and writing fanfics got pushed to the bottom of the priority list. So without further groveling, here is the next chapter. **

Iroh breathed in very slowly. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, waiting for Zuko.

"_Zuko, come to my room tonight," Iroh whispered as he leaned across him, apparently simply grabbing the kaji da chicken._

"_What?" asked Zuko in the same low undertone._

_Iroh looked up quickly and saw Azula looking curiously at him. Smiling at her, he offered some chicken and hoped the moment would blow over. She refused the bowl with __**that**__ smile and turned her head to continue her conversation with the captain, which gave Iroh the chance to grab Zuko's arm and implore, "Please."_

_Zuko looked at him, met his eyes, and said, "Ok."_

A quiet knock shook Iroh from his thoughts. He jumped up and opened the door in one swift movement.

"What's this all about Uncle?" asked Zuko as he sat where Iroh had been moments before.

"Kalihan."

"What?"

"Kalihan. That's where she's taking us Zuko! She led us right into this trap, ever since we got on this cursed ship!"

Zuko jumped up. "You're crazy, Uncle! Crazy! Azula would never do that to us!"

Iroh was so wrapped up in his argument that he didn't even notice how loudly they had become, very different from the whispers that had been used in the start of the conversation. He couldn't believe that Zuko still trusted his sister: "Wake up and smell the Fire Lilies Zuko! Azula's been manipulating everyone around her ever since she could speak! You can't trust her!"

"I trust her more than I do you!"

"What's this?" a female voice asked.

Iroh and Zuko whirled their heads and saw Azula leaning against the doorframe. Iroh felt his stomach drop at the sight of her.

"Azula," he said as he took a step toward her, "This matter does not concern you."

"I'm afraid it does, Uncle. This is my ship, sailing under my command. Now, _what's this?_"

Iroh was not going to tell his niece anything and made to turn away, but Zuko proclaimed, "Uncle thinks you're taking us to Kalihan."

In that moment, Iroh saw something he hadn't seen in Azula's eyes in many years: fear. But the next moment she was laughing, and it was as if the moment had never occurred.

"Kalihan?" she snickered. "You think I'm taking you to Kalihan?" She looked directly into Zuko's eyes and said, "Zuko, I'm your sister. Would you believe _him_," gesturing to Iroh, contempt in her voice, "over me? Your father's daughter? Blood sticks together Zuko, or at least Fire Nation royalty does."

Time seemed to stand still. Zuko looked from Azula to Iroh to Azula, apparently deciding who to believe. Iroh pleaded with his eyes, and prayed yet another silent prayer to Agni: _Please, Agni, help him see through his sister. Help him see the right direction. Please Agni, he is your son._

Finally, Zuko spoke. "I trust you, Azula."

Iroh felt as if all of the wind had been knocked out of him. Collapsing into a nearby chair, he asked, "Why?"

Zuko didn't quite meet Iroh's eyes when he answered. "Blood sticks together."

With that, the royal siblings turned to leave the room. But when they were no more than a foot outside of the door, Azula called over her shoulder and said, "Oh, Uncle? When we do reach land, there shall be no need for you to further accompany us." Zuko jerked his head toward her but didn't say anything.

Then they were gone, leaving Iroh feeling more afraid than he had in many years.

* * *

**I'm not sure if anyone even reads my stories anymore (I don't know if I still would, I hate it when authors don't update their stories…and now I've become one of those authors ********) If you are still reading this story, PLEASE let me know in a review. You don't even need to say what you thought of it- just say, "I'm reading it." If no one's reading this, I'll give it a slip shod ending and wash my hands of it. But if even one person's reading it, then I'll work really hard on it, I promise.**


	6. Chapter 6

**OH WOW!! I **_**never**_** thought I would get so many reviews after not updating for so long! Thank you guys so so so much :) In fact, you guys deserve individual thanks. Thank you:**

**Anawey****- don't worry, no slip shod ending ;)  
****KnightRayne25****- thanks for getting into your review :)  
****fourfourfourfour****- I'm glad you liked it, I love reading your stories and I'm really lucky you still stick with mine  
****crazyzukofangirl1280****- glad I could give you the chapter you've been waiting for!  
****number1avatarfanatic****- thanks for still reading it! (and also catching my spelling mistake, my bad)  
****Albino Bebop****- thanks for reading my not-regularly-updated story!**

**And now, my next chapter. Hope you like it, it's a bit longer than usual ;) **

* * *

The next four days were awful for Iroh. He stayed locked in his room. He snuck out only to retrieve food at night. Biting into an apple, he felt like a shell of his former self. Where was General Iroh who could withstand a 600-day siege? Where was the Dragon of the West who could install fear into the very souls of his enemies? Iroh was glad to be rid of his former cause, but he longed for his courage. Where had he lost it? Iroh racked his brains, but he could not think of a single instance where he could have become cowardly. It seemed as if he had always had it, yet paradoxically never had it. _Maybe_, it was similar to how he viewed good and evil. What he used to see as good he now saw as evil, and what was once evil was in fact good. Of course! He still had his courage, it was just a different _kind_.

Staying on this ship was too dangerous, for both him and Zuko. He needed to remove himself from the ship, then track the party and hopefully remove Zuko from the picture before Kalihan. Iroh looked out his window. The moon was almost in the highest point of the sky, which meant it was nearly midnight. They were "scheduled" to arrive at Fuoco at noon, but they would most likely reach Kalihan a few hours after that. Iroh didn't know how Azula was going to trick Zuko into going to Kalihan, but he knew that he could not be part of the party while she was in control.

Iroh grabbed a bag and threw a change of simple clothes and some money into it. He sneaked to the kitchen and took some rations. Iroh decided to let Azula invent the story for his mysterious disappearance. He ran as silently as he could to the part of the ship with the speedboats. He told the guards that Azula had given him a mission, and they let him pass. Iroh chuckled at their gullibility. He picked out a swift-looking speedboat and had it put in the water. Once he was in the boat, he situated himself. The boat was small- five feet long and no more than three feet wide. But it was enough for his purpose. He set his bag in the compartment at the bow of the ship and sat in the stern. The motor was powered by firebending, so with an intense flame, he started the boat and sped off for land, and hopefully safety.

* * *

Iroh reached land near morning. He could see the ship only as a minuscule speck, but knew that it was coming fast for its size. Iroh left the beach and entered the outskirts of Fuoco. The first thing he did was trade in his elaborate clothes for some more subtle green ones. He stuffed these into his bag for later, when he would need to be hidden by the forest. For now he changed into his other, simpler clothes. He also let his hair out of the bun that identified him as royalty. Feeling more confident now that he had at least somewhat of a disguise, Iroh walked into a small shop for some breakfast.

After a short meal of scrambled hog-monkey eggs and ginseng tea, Iroh strolled into town to kill some time. It was obviously market day. He strolled the streets with glee for a few hours. Iroh loved buying and selling, and resisted everything-but a Pai Sho board caught his eye. The merchant was a petite, middle-aged woman. The board was set up in the small space between her stand and a building. Iroh approached her cautiously.

"May I have this game?" he asked, gesturing to the table.

She looked at him for a moment before walking over and sitting down in position to play. "The guest has the first move."

Iroh picked a white lotus tile and placed it in the center of the board.

"Interesting," he heard the woman mutter.

The two started to play. Both seemed to know what they wanted from the other, yet were cautious to see if the other would help. Quickly, a lotus was formed on the board.

The woman smiled for the first time. "Welcome, brother. The White Lotus opens wide to those who know her secrets." She told a young boy to take over for a few minutes. They went into her stand; drawing back a crimson curtain, she led him to a small sitting room. They didn't waste any time.

"What is it you need?" she asked.  
"Information. My niece and nephew are headed for this beach but will detour to Kalihan soon after."  
He heard her give a small gasp at the name of the prison, but she let him continue.  
"I need to be able to track them on their journey to Kalihan, but I'm not familiar with this area. What way is quickest?"  
The woman stood up and grabbed a scroll from a basket. Opening it, she laid it out on the table between them. She scanned it for a moment before pointing out a path.  
"Here," she said. "This will get you to Kalihan in a few hours." Iroh rolled up the scroll and stuffed it into his bag.  
"Thank you," he said as he stood up to leave.  
She nodded. "Good luck."

Iroh exited the tent. It was a few hours after sunrise. Iroh went into an inn to change into his green clothing. Ten minutes later he was well on his way to Kalihan, map in hand, ready to take on whatever life threw his way.

* * *

**Did you like it? Hope so! The bit at the beginning where Iroh was freaking out about his courage was to make me feel better. I think I've been writing Iroh as a kind of wussy, and I don't want to do that! Yeah, Azula's scary and all, but he's **_**Iroh**_**. From now on, my Iroh will pwn ;)**


	7. Chapter 7

**At least this is a bit more respectable update ;) Hope y'all enjoy!**

Every now and then the trees on the path cleared up to reveal the sea and Iroh could see the ship. In the early hours of his journey the ship was a safe distance behind him; as the day went on, however, it started closing the gap between them until it finally overtook him. Iroh was tempted to start running but knew that it would be unwise to waste his energy. After all, it was the steady turtle duck that defeated the overconfident lemur hare.

By afternoon Iroh was exhausted. The path was longer than the map showed because he had had to detour around a group of young, rowdy soldiers who seemed keen to beat up anyone in their path. An unnecessary fight would drain him too much, so he went around them. He could finally see the prison, which both excited and frightened him. Finally, Iroh collapsed, physically unable to move any further. He hoped it wouldn't be too late if he rested one night because he simply couldn't fight in his current state. He pulled some food out of his bag and devoured it- he hadn't eaten since breakfast. While he ate he planned. Azula would no doubt lead Zuko into Kalihan immediately. Zuko might be in a cell right now. Iroh shuddered and quickly prayed to Agni.

He had to act tonight. Iroh decided to allow himself a few hours sleep to reenergize him. Being in the army for so long had given him the skill to wake up when needed. Iroh scanned the area for a proper resting place. He saw a log that covered a small hole, unnoticed at first glance. With some discomfort, Iroh squeezed himself in the space and covered himself with his green cloak to try and blend in. A few minutes later, the Dragon of the West was asleep.

--

Iroh woke with a jolt, just like when he was at war. He looked up in the sky and saw that it was a couple of hours before midnight. He crawled out of his hiding place and left his bag; there would be no further need of it. The only thing he had on his person was a rope he had made from his clothes. Iroh sneaked as quietly as he could to the edge of the forest, which was still a good twenty feet away from the outer wall of the prison. Iroh looked around the prison. There had to be at least 75 guards surrounding it, an unusually high number. He needed to pull them to a central location far from himself.

Iroh created a small dragon out of a flame and made it run to the other side of the forest. This used to just be a fun trick to amuse Lu Ten and Zuko, but it proved itself a useful red herring when, after Iroh made it explode, it drew the attention of nearly every soldier. A great number rushed to the site of the explosion- so many that Iroh was able to use his rope to climb up the wall without a hitch. Until he saw the soldier, that is.

"Capt-" the soldier started to shout, but he fell quiet when Iroh knocked him out. Unfortunately, the cry did not go unnoticed, and Iroh was soon fighting two other soldiers. One of them attempted to stab him with his sword, but Iroh dodged the attacks and punched him in the chest with a flaming fist. The other was a firebender, and this spar took a little longer. The man sent several fireballs at Iroh, which he deflected. Iroh sent back a few stronger flames of his own. The man whipped out a fiery chain, which caught Iroh off guard and burnt him on the arm. Iroh gathered his chi and sent a bolt of lightening at the soldier. He fell immediately.

Hoping the man wasn't dead but more concerned about his nephew, Iroh spied a sewage drain and crawled inside. It was full of sludge, and rat-roaches ran rampant; however, Iroh barely paid attention to these disgusting details. He focused on the task at hand. He hadn't been in Kalihan in many years, and it was more difficult to try and navigate in an underground sewer system. He reached several dead ends and had to turn around, but he finally found a grate above his head that lead to a storage closet. He waited for nearly an hour for someone to come in, and finally, a man did. Iroh attacked him immediately and stole his uniform. The clothing was a bit tight, but the helmet fit him perfectly and covered his face, effectively concealing his identity.

Iroh peered out of the closet and saw an empty hall. He sneaked out and tried to find a master list of all the prisoners. Hopefully, Iroh would find Zuko on the list, locate his cell, and sneak him back through the sewer system. The layout of the jail was much easier to navigate on the ground levels, and Iroh was feeling a little more confident; at least, he was until he turned the corner and saw Azula coming his way.

**Ah! Cliffhanger! Don't worry, the next (and last!) chapter is nearly done, and even though I have AP exams next week, it should be up soon. I hope y'all didn't think Iroh was too OOC for sleeping before going into Kalihan, I just felt like it was the right thing to do. One, after traveling all day he was bound to be exhausted. Two, Iroh realistically couldn't attack the prison until nightfall, so he might as well slept to kill time. Those are my justifications, hope they're enough. Review if you feel the need.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Here it is, the final chapter in **_**Iroh's Intuition**_**. Hope you enjoy it, but before you begin, be on the lookout for two literary allusions. One is from a classic, the other is from a modern book. Just for some fun ;) **_**Now**_** here is chapter eight of this story.**

--

Iroh's heart was pounding. He hadn't even thought of what he would do if he ran into Azula.

Azula narrowed her eyes as she walked down the hallway. Then, she abruptly stopped.

"Soldier," she called out.

Iroh stiffened up and lowered his voice. "Yes, Princess?"

"What is your business here?"

He had to think quickly. "Simply making the daily rounds, Your Highness."

She looked like she didn't believe him, but at that moment another soldier came running. He tried to speak, but he was panting too heavily and could not be understood. Annoyed, Azula snapped, "What is it?"

The soldier swallowed and spoke clearly, though he appeared frightened of what he was saying. "Princess," he said, "The new prisoner has tried to escape."

At this, Iroh's eyes grew wide. Surely he was talking about Zuko! Azula seemed to be thinking along the same lines. She grew completely enraged, grabbed the soldier by the cuff of his uniform, and nearly lifted him off the ground. "For your sake, he better be back in his cell," she growled.

"He is!" the unfortunate scapegoat gasped, once again hardly able to be understood. "He knocked out the…guard who was chaining him…to the wall and…tried to run. Four guards…quickly overtook him."

Azula kept her grip for a few more painful seconds before releasing the man, who rubbed his neck. She swirled around and looked at Iroh.

"Follow me," she commanded. Iroh did so cautiously, trying to memorize the path to Zuko's cell. It was extremely complex; first they turned left down a hallway, then right, then left again, then up a flight of stairs, two more rights, and finally another left before stopping in front of a cell surrounded by huge guards. The three men were definitely strong, but did not appear too intelligent.

While they tried to explain what had happened to Azula, Iroh tried to nonchalantly look inside at Zuko. His heart dropped into his stomach. If he had not previously known that it was his nephew inside of that cell, Iroh would have been unable to recognize him. He was literally black and blue in some places. His iconic scar was covered in blood from a huge wound on his head. Under him, there was an ever-expanding puddle of blood, which quickly grew when Zuko began to cough up blood. Zuko's raw wrists were bound above his head on the wall, and his toes were barely touching the ground. His head was raised high enough for Iroh to see his eyes. They were hollow.

"So you consider _this_ a punishment?" Azula was asking.

The three guards looked at each other before nervously nodding. Azula rolled her eyes and snatched the keys from the closest guard. She opened the door, took the keys back out, and tossed them to Iroh.

"Remove him from the wall," she ordered.

Iroh did as he was told. While he was undoing the lock that chained Zuko's handcuffs to the wall, Iroh noticed that his face was next to Zuko's ear. He seized the opportunity to whisper, "It's me."

Zuko glanced up at Iroh, but did not seem to think that there was any hope at this point and quickly resumed the blank look of before. He really was broken. Iroh blinked back tears and undid the chain connecting Zuko's shackles to the wall. One of the guards came and led Zuko out into the hall. He seemed barely able to stand. Azula smiled _that_ smile.

"You two," she instructed at the remaining guards, "Return to your original posts. We won't need this many guards here after he comes back from Room 101."

At this, Zuko collapsed and let out a defeated sob; it was the most pitiful noise Iroh had ever heard in his life. Azula kicked him in the stomach and effectively shut him up. "Let's go," she whispered.

In any other place, their party would have been strange. Azula was leading, grinning as if she had been named Fire Lady; the guard followed, along with Zuko, who was half-walking and half-allowing himself to be dragged; Iroh made up the rear, apparently composed but screaming on the inside, waiting for the opportunity to free his nephew from this hellhole. In Kalihan, his was a perfectly normal scene.

The journey to Room 101 went much too quickly. Iroh devised plan after plan, each more outrageous than the previous one. The next thing he knew, he was in the most frightening room in the Fire Nation. The guard shoved Zuko into a kneeling position in the middle of the room. He bound his ankles to the ground and his wrists to a two-foot high platform so that his legs and back were completely exposed for torture.

"That will be all," she said. "Simply wait outside until we are through."

The man handed the keys to her, bowed, and left. Now it was only Azula, Iroh, and Zuko, who laid his head on the platform and stiffened up his body. Azula began circling Zuko and Iroh watched her like a messenger hawk, ready to strike before she caused any more pain to his nephew.

"You know Zuzu," she said almost lazily, "Uncle was right. You shouldn't have trusted me. You shouldn't trust anyone in our family. But," she continued as she kept on circling him, "it did make it so easy to get you here. Father was right about that."

Zuko looked up and spoke up for the first time. "F-Father put you up to this?"

Azula laughed. "Of course. He's been trying to get you out of his hair ever since the first time you failed to capture the Avatar. He doesn't want you."

"You lied to me."

Azula smirked. "Like I've never done that before. But enough chit chat. Let's get started, shall we?"

Zuko put his head back down. Azula smiled and began to create a bolt of lightening. Without thinking, Iroh jumped in between his niece and nephew, just as the former sent cold fire to the latter. Iroh redirected the lightening and sent it to a wall, which blasted a huge hole. Iroh looked back at Azula. For once in her life, she was completely caught off guard. She simple stood with her arm outstretched for a few seconds.

Iroh seized the opportunity to shoot a flame at her. She was aware enough, however, to roll out of the way and send back another bolt of lightening. Iroh ducked and sent flaming disks at Azula. One caught her leg and she cried out. She was too enraged to bend lightening, and had to restore to regular firebending. She sent a few flames that were easy to dodge. She kept trying to attack Iroh, but he finally had the advantage against her. She was angry, and couldn't control her chi. Azula finally noticed this and sent a massive amount of flames at Iroh, which hurled him flying backwards. He fell at a strange angle, and his helmet flew off, revealing his identity to Azula. Her shock earlier was nothing compared to now. Her eyes were bulging out of her head

"You-but-how-"

"Never underestimate the Dragon of the West, Azula, especially when his nephew is involved." And with that, Iroh sent a bolt of lightening to the ceiling, causing some tiles to fall on Azula and knock her out. He ran to her and took the keys from her belt. Then he went to the middle of the room to free his nephew.

Zuko's head was now raised and his face was tear-strained. Iroh knelt beside him to unlock his handcuffs. Right away, Zuko tried to speak.

"Uncle I'm so-"

"Zuko," Iroh said as he cut him off, "I know. And I forgive you a thousand times over. But now we need to focus on getting you out of here, ok?"

Zuko swallowed and nodded. Iroh freed him and helped him stand.

"Can you walk?" Iroh asked him.

"I-I think so," said Zuko.

"Then this is the plan: I'm going to put the helmet back on and pretend to take you to a new cell. When we reach the ground floor, we can go through a sewage system to the outside. When we get there, I want you to run as fast as you can to the forest, understand?"

Zuko nodded again.

"Let's go." Iroh put on the helmet and pushed Zuko out of the room to make him look official.

"Where's the Princess?" the guard asked.

"Meditating inside," Iroh made up, "and she asked me to tell you not to disturb her."

"Oh, ok," the guard said, apparently satisfied.

Iroh led Zuko down the same path they had taken earlier. He felt confident that the worst was over and that they were going to be all right. It was just a matter of getting out. When they reached the hallway with the storage closet that led to the sewer system, Iroh saw it was cluttered with guards. Taking a deep breath, Iroh tried simply to lead Zuko out a side door. They made it five feet out the door before the alarms sounded.

"Run Zuko!" Iroh shouted.

Zuko did as best as he could. Iroh kept away all enemies around his nephew and didn't care about protecting himself, which led to many burns. The guards started dwindling, however, the farther they got into the forest. Soon there was only one left. Iroh squared off with the man, but he was exhausted and his attacks were sloppy. The soldier quickly overtook him. He sent flames to Iroh's legs, chest, and arms that made it painful to bend. Iroh sent one last flame as the soldier bended again. The last thing Iroh remembered was a huge fireball coming his way…

--

Iroh awoke to find himself in a small red room. He was lying on a bed, and he was bandaged up. Where was he? Had he been captured? Iroh sat up as quickly as his injuries let him and started to make a run for it, but then he heard, "Uncle!"

Turning around, he saw Zuko, even more bandaged than himself, but _alive_.

"Zuko," Iroh heard himself mutter before he ran over and embraced his nephew. After what seemed like an eternity, they let go and each wiped his eyes.

"What happened?" asked Iroh as they sat down.

"That last flame you threw hit the soldier's face. It caught him off guard, and I was able to completely knock him out from behind. Then I dragged you to town and said that we had been mugged. This nice woman took us in." And as if on cue, the woman from earlier walked in and offered Iroh a cup of tea.

"My dear woman, how can we ever repay you?"

She smiled and simply said, "Help will always be offered to those in need of it."

As she left, Zuko turned to Iroh. "Uncle, I have something I need to tell you-"

Iroh held up his hand. "Zuko, you don't need to say anything to me."

"Yes I do," said Zuko. "You tried to warn me about Azula and I shut you out. I should have listened to you, and I'm sorry."

Iroh placed his hand on Zuko's shoulder. "Zuko, you are safe, and that's all that matters."

They embraced again, and even though they didn't know where they would go or what they would do, they had each other again, and that was all that mattered.

--

**It's over! I won't say that I'm completely saddened by this, I'm glad to finally have resolution in this story. This wasn't the ending I envisioned at all when I first dreamed up this story. For example, I thought that the lines that I took from the show ("You lied to me" "Like I've never done that before") were going to be in a fight sequence when Zuko finally realizes for himself about Azula. Obviously the plot didn't work out like that! Sorry for the vague ending, I just imagine them going as refugees in Ba Sing Se now and when Azula does show up later, Zuko and Iroh obviously would fight with Aang and Katara. I didn't want to put all of that in because it just didn't flow.  
****Thanks to all of my readers who actually stuck with me though all of this mess, and thanks to anyone who read and just never reviewed. If you liked it, then I'm happy. ****  
Moral of the story: Never post part of a story if you don't know where the rest is going.**


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